1 Chronicles Chapter 7
Showing all 40 verses for 1 Chronicles Chapter 7.
The People's Bible is written by people, for the people. Each verse below shows:
"Now the sons of Issachar were, Tola, and Puah, Jashub, and Shimrom, four. "
"Issachar's sons were Tola, Puah, Jashub and Shimrom - four sons in all."
I care about the ordinary names, not just the famous ones - your family line, however unremarkable it looks from the outside, is written into the story I am telling. You do not need to be a headline to matter to me.
"And the sons of Tola; Uzzi, and Rephaiah, and Jeriel, and Jahmai, and Jibsam, and Shemuel, heads of their father’s house, to wit, of Tola: they were valiant men of might in their generations; whose number was in the days of David two and twenty thousand and six hundred. "
"Tola's sons were Uzzi, Rephaiah, Jeriel, Jahmai, Jibsam and Shemuel - heads of their family clans, all strong fighting men. In David's time there were twenty-two thousand six hundred of them."
Strength that lasts is built through generations of people taking responsibility for their own household first. Lead your own small circle well, and you contribute to something far bigger than you can see.
"And the sons of Uzzi; Izrahiah: and the sons of Izrahiah; Michael, and Obadiah, and Joel, Ishiah, five: all of them chief men. "
"Uzzi's son was Izrahiah, and Izrahiah's sons were Michael, Obadiah, Joel and Ishiah - five men, all leaders."
Being trusted to lead, even in a small family or community role, is worth taking seriously. I notice faithfulness in the small, unglamorous positions just as much as in the grand ones.
"And with them, by their generations, after the house of their fathers, were bands of soldiers for war, six and thirty thousand men: for they had many wives and sons. "
"Along with them, according to their family records, they had bands of soldiers ready for war - thirty-six thousand men - because they had many wives and many sons."
Whatever measure of security you are chasing today - money, status, followers - people in this book measured it in family and community. Invest in the people around you; that is where real, lasting strength has always come from.
"And their brethren among all the families of Issachar were valiant men of might, reckoned in all by their genealogies fourscore and seven thousand. "
"Their relatives across all of Issachar's families were also strong fighting men - eighty-seven thousand in total, according to their family records."
Do not assume the quieter people or groups around you are the weaker ones. Real strength is often carried by those who are not the loudest, and I see and value it just the same.
"The sons of Benjamin; Bela, and Becher, and Jediael, three. "
"Benjamin's sons were Bela, Becher and Jediael - three sons."
However badly a community has been broken, rebuilding and being counted again is possible. I do not write anyone off because of their history - restoration is always part of my plan.
"And the sons of Bela; Ezbon, and Uzzi, and Uzziel, and Jerimoth, and Iri, five; heads of the house of their fathers, mighty men of valour; and were reckoned by their genealogies twenty and two thousand and thirty and four. "
"Bela's sons were Ezbon, Uzzi, Uzziel, Jerimoth and Iri - five men, heads of their families and mighty warriors, numbering twenty-two thousand and thirty-four in the family records."
You are not a rounded-off statistic to me - every person, right down to the details of their life, is known and accounted for. That precision is a sign of care, not bureaucracy.
"And the sons of Becher; Zemira, and Joash, and Eliezer, and Elioenai, and Omri, and Jerimoth, and Abiah, and Anathoth, and Alameth. All these are the sons of Becher. "
"Becher's sons were Zemira, Joash, Eliezer, Elioenai, Omri, Jerimoth, Abiah, Anathoth and Alameth - all these were Becher's sons."
The mark you leave does not have to be dramatic to be lasting - sometimes it is simply your name attached to a place, a family, a habit of kindness that outlives you.
"And the number of them, after their genealogy by their generations, heads of the house of their fathers, mighty men of valour, was twenty thousand and two hundred. "
"Their number, recorded according to their family lines as heads of households and mighty warriors, was twenty thousand two hundred."
What looks like a small or damaged beginning does not determine your ceiling. Given time and care, recovery can produce real strength - never assume the worst chapter is the last one.
"The sons also of Jediael; Bilhan: and the sons of Bilhan; Jeush, and Benjamin, and Ehud, and Chenaanah, and Zethan, and Tharshish, and Ahishahar. "
"Jediael's son was Bilhan, and Bilhan's sons were Jeush, Benjamin, Ehud, Chenaanah, Zethan, Tharshish and Ahishahar."
Naming a child after someone you admire is an old and good instinct - it is a way of saying their character is worth carrying forward. Who in your life is worth naming something after, even informally, in how you choose to live?
"All these the sons of Jediael, by the heads of their fathers, mighty men of valour, were seventeen thousand and two hundred soldiers, fit to go out for war and battle. "
"All these sons of Jediael, counted by their family heads, were seventeen thousand two hundred fighting men, ready to go out to war and battle."
Readiness matters more than constant action. Life does not always call you to fight, but staying prepared - physically, mentally, spiritually - means you are not caught off guard when it does.
"Shuppim also, and Huppim, the children of Ir, and Hushim, the sons of Aher. "
"Also Shuppim and Huppim, the sons of Ir, and Hushim, the son of Aher."
You do not need your story to be fully clear or tidy for it to matter. I keep the messy, half-understood parts of your history too - nothing genuine gets erased just because it is hard to explain.
"The sons of Naphtali; Jahziel, and Guni, and Jezer, and Shallum, the sons of Bilhah. "
"Naphtali's sons were Jahziel, Guni, Jezer and Shallum, the sons of Bilhah."
Where you started - your family's status, your background, how people first saw you - does not determine your worth in my eyes. Everyone gets counted with the same seriousness and respect.
"The sons of Manasseh; Ashriel, whom she bare: (but his concubine the Aramitess bare Machir the father of Gilead: "
"Manasseh's sons: Ashriel, whom his Aramean concubine bore him - she also bore Machir, the father of Gilead."
Belonging was never about perfect purity of background, even in these ancient records. If your own story includes mixed origins, complicated family arrangements, or being an outsider who married in, you still belong fully.
"And Machir took to wife the sister of Huppim and Shuppim, whose sister’s name was Maachah;) and the name of the second was Zelophehad: and Zelophehad had daughters. "
"Machir married a sister of Huppim and Shuppim, named Maachah. His second son was named Zelophehad, and Zelophehad had only daughters."
When you see an unfairness built into the rules around you, you are allowed to speak up and ask for change - Zelophehad's daughters did, and were heard. Courage to ask a hard question of those in authority is not disrespect; it can be exactly the right thing to do.
"And Maachah the wife of Machir bare a son, and she called his name Peresh; and the name of his brother was Sheresh; and his sons were Ulam and Rakem. "
"Maachah, Machir's wife, had a son and named him Peresh; his brother was named Sheresh, and Peresh's sons were Ulam and Rakem."
Even names that never appear again in the Bible were once someone's whole world - a person with hopes, a household, a place they belonged. I remember them, even where history has largely forgotten them.
"And the sons of Ulam; Bedan. These were the sons of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh. "
"Ulam's son was Bedan. These were the descendants of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh."
Knowing where you come from is not about pride in ancestry for its own sake - it is about understanding your place in something larger, so you can act with a sense of belonging rather than drifting without roots.
"And his sister Hammoleketh bare Ishod, and Abiezer, and Mahalah. "
"His sister Hammoleketh bore Ishod, Abiezer and Mahalah."
Great things in your life may trace back to an ordinary person you barely think about - a grandmother, an aunt, someone whose contribution was never loudly celebrated. I see the full chain of influence, even the parts history skips over.
"And the sons of Shemidah were, Ahian, and Shechem, and Likhi, and Aniam. "
"Shemidah's sons were Ahian, Shechem, Likhi and Aniam."
The place you build a life in and the people you raise there become intertwined, sometimes for centuries. Build well where you are planted - it can outlast you in ways you cannot predict.
"And the sons of Ephraim; Shuthelah, and Bered his son, and Tahath his son, and Eladah his son, and Tahath his son, "
"Ephraim's sons: Shuthelah, then his son Bered, then his son Tahath, then his son Eladah, then his son Tahath."
Not every stretch of life is eventful - sometimes it is simply generation after generation of steady, unremarkable faithfulness, passing something on quietly. That quiet continuity is not wasted; it is what makes the dramatic moments possible later.
"And Zabad his son, and Shuthelah his son, and Ezer, and Elead, whom the men of Gath that were born in that land slew, because they came down to take away their cattle. "
"And his son Zabad, and his son Shuthelah, and Ezer, and Elead - who were killed by the local men of Gath, because they had gone down to steal their cattle."
I do not hide the painful, embarrassing chapters of anyone's family story - not even in scripture itself. Honesty about loss and mistakes, rather than pretending a family history was flawless, is part of real healing.
"And Ephraim their father mourned many days, and his brethren came to comfort him. "
"Their father Ephraim mourned for many days, and his relatives came to comfort him."
When someone you love is grieving, do not just send a message and move on - come and sit with them, the way Ephraim's relatives did. Presence, over time, is one of the most loving things you can offer someone in pain.
"And when he went in to his wife, she conceived, and bare a son, and he called his name Beriah, because it went evil with his house. "
"Later he slept with his wife again; she conceived and bore a son, and he named him Beriah, because trouble had come upon his household."
You do not have to pretend the hard chapters of your life did not happen in order to move forward from them. It is possible to name your pain honestly and still choose to build something new afterwards - both truths can live together.
"(And his daughter was Sherah, who built Bethhoron the nether, and the upper, and Uzzensherah.) "
"His daughter was Sherah, who built Lower and Upper Bethhoron, as well as Uzzensherah."
Do not assume that because a certain kind of achievement is usually attributed to one group of people, others were not equally capable and active. I notice every builder, every founder, regardless of whether the wider record remembered to mention them.
"And Rephah was his son, also Resheph, and Telah his son, and Tahan his son, "
"Rephah was his son, also Resheph, and his son Telah, and his son Tahan."
Most days will look like this verse - ordinary, unremarkable, simply the next name in the chain. That is fine. Faithfulness in the ordinary stretches is exactly what makes the meaningful moments possible when they come.
"Laadan his son, Ammihud his son, Elishama his son, "
"Laadan was his son, Ammihud his son, Elishama his son."
Sometimes the person standing quietly in a list is more significant than they first appear. Do not underestimate people just because their importance is not obvious on first meeting.
"Non his son, Jehoshuah his son, "
"Non was his son, and Jehoshuah was his son."
The people who go on to do extraordinary things usually come from completely ordinary families and ordinary upbringings, just like everyone else. You do not need a special or dramatic origin to become someone who changes the course of history for good.
"And their possessions and habitations were, Bethel and the towns thereof, and eastward Naaran, and westward Gezer, with the towns thereof; Shechem also and the towns thereof, unto Gaza and the towns thereof: "
"Their territory and settlements included Bethel and its surrounding towns, Naaran to the east, Gezer to the west with its towns, and Shechem with its towns, as far as Gaza with its towns."
Roots matter - having a place that is genuinely yours, where you belong and can put down stakes, is part of a stable, secure life. If you feel unrooted right now, know that building or finding that kind of place is a legitimate and worthy goal, not a small one.
"And by the borders of the children of Manasseh, Bethshean and her towns, Taanach and her towns, Megiddo and her towns, Dor and her towns. In these the children of Joseph the son of Israel. "
💡 Highlighted words feature Jacobean 1611 tooltips to clarify shifted 17th-century English terms.
"And along the borders of Manasseh's territory: Bethshean and its towns, Taanach and its towns, Megiddo and its towns, Dor and its towns. These were the settlements of the descendants of Joseph, son of Israel."
Places and people that seem ordinary in one moment can turn out to sit right at the crossroads of much bigger events later. Do not dismiss the significance of where you are simply because it feels unremarkable today.
"The sons of Asher; Imnah, and Isuah, and Ishuai, and Beriah, and Serah their sister. "
"Asher's sons were Imnah, Isuah, Ishuai and Beriah, and their sister was Serah."
A name kept alive and repeated across generations is a form of honour in itself. Think about whose name and memory you keep bringing up in your own family or community - that repetition is one of the simplest ways you keep someone's life meaningful.
"And the sons of Beriah; Heber, and Malchiel, who is the father of Birzavith. "
"Beriah's sons were Heber and Malchiel, who was the father of Birzavith."
Some things about your life, your ancestry, your story, will simply not be fully explainable or traceable, and that is alright. You do not need every detail accounted for to know that your existence and your place in the larger story are real.
"And Heber begat Japhlet, and Shomer, and Hotham, and Shua their sister. "
"Heber fathered Japhlet, Shomer and Hotham, and their sister Shua."
Being named and counted as a full member of the family, regardless of gender, is not a modern invention - it has old roots in how these genealogies were kept. Everyone in your circle deserves that same full recognition.
"And the sons of Japhlet; Pasach, and Bimhal, and Ashvath. These are the children of Japhlet. "
"Japhlet's sons were Pasach, Bimhal and Ashvath - these were Japhlet's children."
Clear endings matter, even in small things - knowing when one chapter of responsibility or relationship has closed helps you move cleanly into the next one, rather than dragging loose ends behind you.
"And the sons of Shamer; Ahi, and Rohgah, Jehubbah, and Aram. "
"Shamer's sons were Ahi, Rohgah, Jehubbah and Aram."
Recording someone's name and existence, even briefly, is itself an act of love and respect. Think about who in your own life deserves that same small act of being remembered and spoken of, rather than quietly forgotten.
"And the sons of his brother Helem; Zophah, and Imna, and Shelesh, and Amal. "
"The sons of his brother Helem were Zophah, Imna, Shelesh and Amal."
Some families and communities simply grow larger and more influential than others over time, through no particular merit of their own beginnings. Wherever you find yourself in a larger or smaller circle, your value is not measured by its size.
"The sons of Zophah; Suah, and Harnepher, and Shual, and Beri, and Imrah, "
"Zophah's sons were Suah, Harnepher, Shual, Beri and Imrah."
A large family or team is not just a number - it is a network of individual relationships, each one worth investing in personally rather than treating people as an undifferentiated group.
"Bezer, and Hod, and Shamma, and Shilshah, and Ithran, and Beera. "
"Bezer, Hod, Shamma, Shilshah, Ithran and Beera."
Abundance and growth in your own life and relationships are worth celebrating rather than downplaying. When things flourish around you, let that be received with gratitude rather than suspicion.
"And the sons of Jether; Jephunneh, and Pispah, and Ara. "
"Jether's sons were Jephunneh, Pispah and Ara."
Sharing a name with someone significant does not make you them, and it does not need to - your own life, faithfully lived, stands on its own regardless of who else carries the same name through history.
"And the sons of Ulla; Arah, and Haniel, and Rezia. "
"Ulla's sons were Arah, Haniel and Rezia."
Quantity of care and detail is itself a way of showing love - when I spend this much attention naming every branch of a family, it is because every single person in it genuinely matters to the whole story.
"All these were the children of Asher, heads of their father’s house, choice and mighty men of valour, chief of the princes. And the number throughout the genealogy of them that were apt to the war and to battle was twenty and six thousand men. "
"All these were descendants of Asher, heads of their family households, outstanding and mighty warriors, leading men among the tribal chiefs. Their number, as recorded in the genealogy of those fit for military service, was twenty-six thousand men."
Whatever you are building - a family, a team, a community - it is made stronger not by anonymous numbers but by named, valued individuals who know they are seen and counted. Build that way, and what you create will last.